


Draecember 2017 Day Seven: Feeling Left Out

by Zillidan



Series: Draecember 2017 [7]
Category: World of Warcraft
Genre: Zul'drak, draecember2017
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-09
Updated: 2017-12-09
Packaged: 2019-02-12 08:12:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 907
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12955041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zillidan/pseuds/Zillidan
Summary: Jen receives an unexpected visit while on guard duty in Northrend, but it isn't what she expected at all.





	Draecember 2017 Day Seven: Feeling Left Out

The wind howled through Zul’drak as Jen huddled up at the top of her tower. Zul’drak during the Northrend campaign wasn’t the most action filled post of them all and not anyone's first choice, but she never was given the opportunity to serve anywhere else. Ever since she was a young child, Jen had wanted to fight. She never got the chance on Argus, her skill, and body size not giving her any natural advantage like her sister had. Of course, she had plenty of time to fight with her time in the Legion, but for her, she wanted a real military experience. The fascination of dressing up in armor, joining a group of people for the same goal, and fighting under a banner for someone made her cheeks rosier than the bitter arctic winds were. Of course, the wide-eyed shining visions of glorious camaraderie in the face of danger wore off real quick when she was given her first assignment. Guard duty was never a glamorous assignment anyways. You could be guarding a base right outside the walls of Icecrown and you might still find yourself nodding during the long hours. Guard duty in Zul’drak was the equivalent of being launched into the far corner or the universe. Not only was it barren, cold, and filled with Trolls, it was completely away from the action. Sure the Drakkari and local Scourge presence reared its head every once in awhile, but it was mostly quiet and boring. This is of course why the people with the least experience the troublemakers, and other normal army rejects ended up in this kind of situation.

Jen had reported in for her shift a few hours ago. The towers were operated in twelve-hour shifts, with people working for twelve and then having the other time to essentially eat food and sleep. Sometimes they had free time, but they were mostly kept on alert in case something major happened. She was sat on the floor, the cold stone of the tower uncomfortable to sit on, but at least this low down she escaped the wind a bit. She had a small stone that she had picked up on the way over for her job, tossing it against the opposite wall and having it bounce back, over and over until it ricochet off to another part of the tower, the lumbering Man’ari slowly rising to her feet to retrieve it, only to start the entire process over again. This time, however, she noticed something different. There was a group of soldiers outside and one was heading into the tower. She recognized a couple of them, but not the one coming up to her. She quickly scrambled to her hooves and made herself presentable. Moments later the soldier came in, now easily identifiable as an officer. He was startled for the moment, clearing his throat as he glanced around.

“This….isn’t the tower Sergeant Rogers is in?”

Jen looked at him quizzically, shaking her head.

“Uh no, its the night and I was assigned here for the night. He is probably over with Finklestein in the north.”

He sighed, shaking his head as he looked over the document, muttering something about how he got the days wrong as he turned to leave.

“Why? What’s going on?” She sputtered out, having never seen this happen before.

He sighed as he walked through the door, Jen following him as they descended the tower. “If you must know, there is a tournament going on in Northrend. The Argent Crusade is looking for the best heroes of the world to prepare for Icecrown. I was simply retrieving him.”

Jen opened her mouth and uttered a sound before he turned around.

“You, on the other hand, will march back up that tower and pretend nobody ever told you anything. You best be getting ready for more shifts, many of the soldiers are leaving this place to reinforce the rest of Northrend and there are no more reinforcements.”

He gave a smirk dripping in malice before yelling at his soldiers to move double time. She turned and slowly made her way back to the top, moping and dragging her hooves as she looked out over the edge of Zul’drak. What was she really doing here? She walked around slowly, gazing out as far as she could see, her blinking eyes frozen and cold whenever she closed them. Besides the departing soldiers, she could see nothing. She was defending a frozen pile of dirt from the falling snow. She angrily slammed her hand into the stone ring around the edge of the tower, crying out as she clutched her cold hand in her frozen gauntlet. She ripped it off and held it close as she slinked down to the ground and stared back at the prison she was in. She never imagined this, sitting alone, cold, in pain, ready to fall asleep and never give up. This wasn't the military life she was supposed to have, and yet here she was. She reached over and grabbed the pocket watch left there, six hours remaining. She placed and back and sighed, hoping that the rest of Northrend was as miserable as her. The only reason she wanted the Lich King to die was so that she could leave and never return. For now, it was going to be a few more long months, and she really was not prepared for this solitude.


End file.
